- 6/19/2025
Category
🏖
TravelTranscript
00:00Last autumn, five pairs of ordinary Brits embarked on a 14,000-kilometre race of a lifetime.
00:14Ah, let's go!
00:15Oh, wow!
00:16Run, Sean, Ed, run!
00:19From the Great Wall of China to the southern tip of India.
00:23This is the car before the storm.
00:27Put me hair out if I don't.
00:30It's like an onslaught of the senses.
00:32Chicka-doo, chicka-doo, chicka-doo, go, go!
00:34Chicka-doo, chicka-doo, chicka-doo, go, go!
00:37They travelled across three countries at ground level.
00:41This is awesome!
00:43Look, it's a sleeping bloody car.
00:45The old fellow loves his bloody home.
00:48These are my special memories we're making.
00:51This is the best view that I've ever had working.
00:55Oh, I want one.
00:56You can't.
00:57through a multitude of different landscapes.
01:02We won't ever forget this.
01:04It will be a special place for us.
01:06Probably.
01:11Looks quite like a fairy tale.
01:13He's not going to bottle it. He's not a bottle.
01:15Oh, shit!
01:16But only one team could win
01:19and claim the prize of £20,000.
01:27And now, for the first time since crossing the finish line,
01:31they all sit down together.
01:33We did tell a few porcupines.
01:35No, we never.
01:37Taking the chance to share their ultimate highs.
01:40It's like going back to being a kid again, but you're allowed to do it.
01:44And the way!
01:48This experience is just making me feel so alive.
01:51We got each other, it's all right.
01:54And agonising lows.
01:56Literally fresh out of school, so we've gone from that to luck now.
02:00It's scary and intimidating.
02:02They share unseen moments.
02:04Oh, my God!
02:06It's the Himalayas.
02:08Watch your head.
02:09Oh!
02:10Oh, my God, I just told you.
02:12In my head, I was just thinking, please don't say that.
02:16And reveal secrets from behind the scenes.
02:19One of the cameras was literally leaning out the back of one of the vehicles,
02:23trying to film it.
02:24It's constantly filming, packing, moving, filming, packing, moving.
02:28As they look back.
02:29Keep coming, Mel.
02:30Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick.
02:32At their race across the world.
02:34Black tea.
02:35Cheers.
02:36Come on.
02:37Come on.
02:51Coming home to Wales.
02:52Ready?
02:53Come here.
02:54Was a bit of a shock to the system.
02:56I miss everything about racing.
02:57I miss everything about racing.
02:58The suspense of not knowing where you're going to go next.
03:01It was an unbelievable experience.
03:04We're on our way to the council tip.
03:07This is just something typically we will do together.
03:13Which is actually lovely, because that's when we don't have our phones,
03:17just like on race, and we chat to each other,
03:20and we chat about anything and everything.
03:24Go on, go get it!
03:25Here is Yin doing some work in her house.
03:28Wear our muscles.
03:30This is Yin's house.
03:32And we both have our matching fleeces on.
03:35Since coming back from race, we still see each other a lot.
03:39You know, Yin's only just finally moved out.
03:41I've been doing sort of like DIY,
03:43making it feel a little bit more like my own.
03:45I'm feeling happier about being here.
03:47Hello.
03:49We are at the gym.
03:51You know, we thought, what a great way to bond.
03:54Here I am in Bequy, which is a Caribbean island.
04:04Most days I think about the race.
04:06The marvellous, most fantastic adventure that anyone can ever think of.
04:11I was really proud of Bri.
04:13I'm proud of myself for actually doing it as well.
04:16You get to a certain age and you think, am I still capable of doing this sort of thing?
04:20And yeah, I was, and I did, and I'd do it again.
04:24Up the oldies.
04:25Having landed back in the UK over six months ago, all five teams are meeting up for the first time since the race.
04:37I think we're here, Mel, aren't we?
04:38Looks a bit posh, mate, doesn't it?
04:40Automatic doors don't walk into it.
04:42Brothers, Brian and Melvin.
04:45Cheers, mate.
04:46Cheers.
04:47Who's next, then, you ready?
04:48Excited to see everyone?
04:50Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing my pensioner friends, Brian and Melvin.
04:53Obviously excited to see everyone.
04:55Yeah.
04:56Welsh teenage couple, Finn and Sean Ed.
04:58Hello.
04:59Hello, guys.
05:00How are you?
05:01Hi.
05:02Looking good.
05:03Yeah, and so are you.
05:04Oh, look at this.
05:07From Worthing, Elizabeth and younger sister, Letitia.
05:11Hello.
05:12Girls.
05:13How are you?
05:14Hello, girls.
05:15How are you?
05:16Oh, really good to see you, Letitia.
05:18I'm not sure of the quality of the champagne.
05:21Only one person will say that, won't they?
05:24Are you back into the land of the living now?
05:26Back to work.
05:27Yeah, back to work.
05:28Back to work.
05:29We've been to Australia.
05:30Good fun.
05:31Very good.
05:32Really good.
05:33It was basically inspired by the race.
05:36Before, we were a bit scared to take that leap.
05:40It was amazing.
05:41Thankfully, no budget.
05:42Otherwise, we'd been out first week.
05:44We'd been gone.
05:45Oh, fantastic.
05:46It'd be interesting to see the others.
05:48We haven't seen them, well, since right at the start.
05:50I hope they all had a really good time.
05:52No, exactly.
05:53From Kent.
05:56Yin and ex-husband, Gaz.
05:59I'm next.
06:01And finally, from Suffolk.
06:03I wish we were going there and we were starting it all again.
06:06Really, me too, actually.
06:09Mother and son, Caroline and Tom.
06:12Caroline, you look really well.
06:14I am.
06:15Oh, boy, awesome.
06:18Obviously, we don't know because we never made it to the end.
06:22So, who actually won out of you?
06:23Who do you think won?
06:25Come on.
06:26I think one of the young'uns.
06:27Yeah.
06:28But I would have liked you guys that won.
06:29Yeah, we would have liked you.
06:30I would have really liked you guys that won, honestly.
06:33After the count of three, the people that won took her two steps forward.
06:36One, two, three.
06:38Well done.
06:39Well done.
06:40Well done.
06:41Well done.
06:42Are you good?
06:43Oh, yeah.
06:44Cheers, guys.
06:45Cheers, guys.
06:46Cheers, guys.
06:47Cheers.
06:48Now bound together by the experience, the five teams met as strangers.
07:04Pleased to meet you.
07:05Nice to meet you.
07:06How you two?
07:07About to embark on a race through the unknown.
07:10Standing at the start line, in the shadows of the Great Wall of China,
07:23it was one of the most challenging launches to date.
07:27Yin and Gaz came up first, didn't you?
07:29And you looked so determined.
07:31And I was like, uh-oh, what have we done?
07:35You said something like, I'm Gaz Yin and we're determined to win.
07:39Something like that.
07:40Yeah.
07:41How confident are you on winning?
07:45Does it matter?
07:46Yeah, very confident.
07:47Yeah, 100%.
07:48Really?
07:49It matters, doesn't it?
07:50100% it matters.
07:51Yeah, definitely.
07:52In my head, I was just thinking, please don't say that.
07:54I don't remember being that competitive, and I'm not that competitive.
07:57I think I was quite nervous, actually, at the start, to be up against you.
08:00Do you have any languages under your bags?
08:02Um...
08:03Go on.
08:04A little bit.
08:05A little bit?
08:06Not a lot.
08:07Of Mandarin?
08:08Yeah.
08:09Do you want to teach us a few minutes?
08:10Yeah!
08:12Because I understood a little bit of the language,
08:15I felt the pressure, like, I have to, you know, keep us going.
08:18I did not understand 85% of what people were saying, like, completely.
08:23I would literally just stare at them and be like, what are you saying?
08:26All right, here we go, then.
08:29You're very young, you're very young.
08:31You're very old.
08:32Yeah, very old.
08:35Don't underestimate us, we might be the oldest here,
08:38but we've got a bit more experience than you guys.
08:41Just watching.
08:42When I saw Brian and Melvin, you know, on the start line,
08:44and I see Melvin with his suitcase,
08:48I'll be honest, I did think, oh, okay, they won't be too hard to beat.
08:53MUSIC PLAYS
09:05Where do we go? What do we do?
09:07Nobody said it to be from the Great Wall of China.
09:10That's when it set in reality.
09:12We just started running around like headless chickens.
09:14Whoa, that's crazy!
09:20Come on, let's go!
09:23I think nothing can prepare you for race.
09:27Language barrier was the main issue.
09:29You have to be so proactive.
09:31Yeah.
09:32I find that quite tough, but that was part of the challenge.
09:34Yeah.
09:36Almost 40 times bigger than the UK,
09:39with more than 300 distinct dialects and languages spoken.
09:43Teams were quickly struck by the scale of China,
09:57discovering the blend of traditional values and quaint towns,
10:01with its ultra-modern megacities holding populations of millions.
10:07Goody hell, what a place this is!
10:10You've never heard of these places, though.
10:12Like, I've never heard of Charmen.
10:14Like, if you go on a map and you zoom into Charmen, it's so small,
10:16but you go there and it's a megacity.
10:18Yeah!
10:19You'd get on a bullet train, and it'd just be, at night time, just be dark,
10:22and then you'd come to a big city, and it was, like, massive.
10:25And one of the days, we actually did three bullet trains,
10:27and we did over 1,000 kilometres in a day.
10:31Going into China, I really thought that everything was modern.
10:35Modern, modern, modern, modern, modern.
10:37Until the night train, I was in shock.
10:45Oh, it's even hard.
10:47You know when you sit down or something and you're expecting a cushion?
10:50This is going to be interesting.
10:52Yeah, I'm not going to sleep tonight.
10:56The smoking issue was a problem, isn't it?
10:58There's big signs saying no smoking,
11:00and people under the signs smoke.
11:07I think I found my seat at 71, but the man's lying all over it.
11:10It's a very different vibe to a bullet train.
11:13It's not as bad as British Rail.
11:17I'd never been on an overnight train.
11:19It was hellish and uncomfortable and tiring,
11:23but I actually enjoyed living through it.
11:26We just managed to have fun.
11:27We enjoyed the little things and just had a good time.
11:30We did have some really incredible positive experiences,
11:33and, you know, those are the moments that really lift you.
11:36Look at that.
11:38Beautiful, beautiful.
11:39Not beautiful, don't it?
11:40This is the real China.
11:42That was picture postcard China.
11:45Yeah.
11:46Seeing the rice paddies.
11:47It was breathtaking, to be honest.
11:49Oh, wow!
11:50Look, look at that.
11:51They look so neat.
11:53I remember just looking around at the scenery
11:55and the mountains were breathtaking.
11:57You were just such a small cog in the whole of nature.
12:01You almost became quite insignificant, in a way.
12:03I mean, were you too busy, like, digging under the roof?
12:06I just enjoyed the work.
12:07It was actually quite nice to get out in the fresh air,
12:09put your waders on.
12:10Pants may leak water, change clothes after digging.
12:15OK.
12:16There's a hole already?
12:17Great!
12:18Oh, man!
12:20Careful, careful.
12:21Yes, Daisy.
12:22I keep falling over.
12:23Former married couple, Yin and Gaz, set off on their journey with the blessing of their
12:37daughter, Autumn.
12:39Are you worried that me and your dad will come over as, like, a bit idiotic?
12:46I don't think that's an if, but I think that's a guarantee.
12:49I think you might have a few delirious moments.
12:52Yeah.
12:53Go on.
12:54I'm really excited for them.
12:56I think, weirdly, it's, like, what they need at this point in their lives.
13:00Both of them need a bit of an adventure.
13:02I'll miss you because, like, I'll have to deal with your dad by myself.
13:06You'll have to miss it.
13:08We're still one big family, and it's, like, even though they're not together,
13:11I'm beyond proud of them.
13:17We're off.
13:18Woo!
13:19Ah!
13:20We thought, wouldn't it be amazing to have some sort of legacy for Autumn to see me
13:25and you in a slightly different light to actually just being parents.
13:29And she was rooting for us.
13:30We're going to make a wish?
13:31Wish to win the race.
13:32Yeah.
13:33OK, let's go.
13:34It feels very gentle.
13:35It's very calm.
13:36It's got a really lovely feel about it.
13:38Peel to my senses.
13:42But their race came to an abrupt standstill when Typhoon Trami struck Hainan Island,
13:49leaving the pair stranded.
13:51I have no words.
13:52It's a limbo.
13:53No words.
13:54I'd pull my hair out if I had any.
13:57We just seemed to, like, encounter an incredible stream of bad luck.
14:01And you could see how choppy the sea was.
14:03It's only an hour's ferry ride as well.
14:05But then the time get pushed back, pushed back.
14:07We hung around, like, 14 hours just in the ferry terminal.
14:09Oh, wow.
14:10Because there is no other way to get there.
14:13It's not like you could hire a speedboat or whatever and get across.
14:16Well, I assume you couldn't.
14:19The delay set them back 44 hours behind the race leaders.
14:23Hello, lady.
14:25Hello.
14:26And for the first time ever, the last team checked in as the first was leaving.
14:31Yay!
14:32You made it!
14:33Let's check it out.
14:34Oh.
14:35I thought they were signing in.
14:36Oh, never mind.
14:37Not leaving.
14:38Your heart just sinks, doesn't it?
14:39Yeah.
14:40Basically, you just thought, you know, what more can go wrong?
14:42And Calamity struck again with a snap decision.
14:45Look how good Malming.
14:47Malming.
14:48Okay, perfect.
14:49Perfect.
14:50Well, let's just book it and pray for a miracle.
14:52That sent them 250 kilometres in the wrong direction.
14:56Gods are against us.
14:58It does feel like that, yeah.
15:00We did leave thinking...
15:01Oh, very positive, yeah.
15:02100% that we could catch up.
15:03We were pumped up to kind of go, look, you know, it has been done in the past.
15:06Come on, let's give it our...
15:08I'm trying to find...
15:10...moaming.
15:11Yes.
15:12Oh, shit.
15:13The race gods let us down again, you know, we...
15:16We threw the dice and it just went horribly wrong again.
15:19Adrift from the rest of the field, it was the end of the road for Yin and Gaz.
15:24We know it wasn't for not trying.
15:27By this stage, your reflection kicks in and I think since leaving race, I recognised that I was struggling already with what China means to me personally.
15:40My heritage is Chinese and I do identify as a Chinese person.
15:45Where I struggle is my upbringing.
15:47It was in a very traditional household and I didn't leave home on good terms for my parents.
15:54Some of the struggles that probably I went through are quite unique in the sense of...
16:00...because I look Chinese, I don't speak Mandarin and I've struggled with my Chinese heritage.
16:07We're looking for bus station or train station.
16:12No, I don't...
16:16We are.
16:17When I came back from race, I reconnected with my siblings and recognised that had to be addressed.
16:25The real gift that race gave me was to address that and then move forward with my life.
16:33My partner, who I'd been with for three years, had passed away very suddenly in September 23.
16:39So, one of the reasons for coming on race was to give me that kind of energy to see what's out there.
16:44I want to give you a hug.
16:46And the relief and lightness that I now feel...
16:49You know, and I do now feel like one of the biggest things that I've probably changed about myself is that life is there to be lived.
16:56It was the catalyst.
16:57It was the catalyst to enable me to move forward.
16:59And when we went travelling afterwards, it was absolutely brilliant.
17:02So, we still kind of, like, that impetus to kind of want to engage with life, to kind of, like, get involved and to meet people and things like that.
17:11So, you know...
17:12Positive.
17:13Yeah, exactly. I think you have to.
17:14Rather than negative.
17:15Yeah, absolutely.
17:20For Yin and Gaz, the race strengthened their bond.
17:23It probably has brought us more together.
17:25And what I think we want in life for the pair of us is just to be happy, whether I find love, whether Yin finds love again or whatever.
17:33We'll always be in each other's lives, because we're just great friends.
17:36Nice.
17:37Probably seems really bizarre to the outside world, but to us, it's normal, you know.
17:42And as we've said, you know, at the end of the day, all I've ever wanted was the best for Yin.
17:45And I'm just very proud of how Yin's become.
17:50It's all right.
17:51Gaz is the most amazing, kind-hearted, supportive person.
17:56I would always want him to always back me, because I don't think I could have done it without you.
18:04It's all right.
18:06It's all right.
18:08It's all right.
18:09Have a good one.
18:12Oh, that's brilliant.
18:13Traveling through the two most populated countries in the world, with a combined population of almost three billion.
18:25Namaste.
18:26Namaste.
18:27Hiya.
18:28Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:29Their meetings with the locals made all the difference to their race.
18:33We didn't know what to expect, but aren't they lovely?
18:36If you can help us, that would be great.
18:38Yeah, this is India.
18:39Anything can happen.
18:41As not all of their encounters can be shown, they share their most memorable, unseen moments with each other.
18:48We met some wonderful people who went out of their way to help us.
18:51You don't have to do much to do something that means so much.
18:55Like, built so much more of an understanding of the culture.
18:59I loved that.
19:00What happens if they can't print the tickets out?
19:03They will.
19:04They will?
19:05Okay.
19:06I like your confidence.
19:07I'm trusting you.
19:08We found these people, and they booked us the bus ticket that we needed.
19:13I can't believe this.
19:14People are just being so unnecessarily kind.
19:18And they got us a taxi to take us to a printing shop.
19:22He's done it already.
19:23No.
19:24No way.
19:27Thank you so much.
19:30This way.
19:31This way.
19:32At the start of the race, even before, I'm not very good at communicating with people.
19:37Yes, yeah.
19:38Make sure she gets the background in.
19:40You keep moving away from me.
19:41Yeah, because she's like...
19:42Don't put your arm up there.
19:43They look so stupid.
19:44Okay, yeah.
19:45Put it down.
19:46Can you...
19:47Okay, you know what?
19:48It's okay.
19:49We definitely started off in a position where neither of us wanted to speak to anyone,
19:54especially with that extra thing of the language barriers.
19:59Beijing?
20:00So, from here to here.
20:02So, whenever someone would just stop to listen, even if we didn't get any information out of
20:07it, we were still grateful that they stopped, because nobody has to do anything for us.
20:11You can just call her Didi.
20:12Didi.
20:13He's his older sister.
20:14Oh, wow.
20:15Didi.
20:16Thank you, Didi.
20:20We only finished the race as a result of what everyone else did for us.
20:24We wouldn't have got anywhere if nobody stopped and gave us time.
20:28Having the kindness of strangers has definitely made me be more open to giving everyone else
20:35the help they need.
20:37Do you work here?
20:38Yes, I do.
20:39I just got off my shift and that's why I'm sitting here.
20:41Oh, lovely.
20:42I actually wanted to have some questions about where we could...
20:46First day, first time in Delhi?
20:48Yes, first time in Delhi.
20:49Oh, okay.
20:50We haven't had a night out yet.
20:51It's Saturday.
20:52It's Saturday.
20:53It's a night light.
20:54Yeah.
20:55Is it going to be so busy?
20:56Of course.
20:57Ah, yes.
20:58I can take it there if you would like that.
20:59I can go with you guys.
21:00Yes!
21:01Come with us!
21:02Yeah!
21:03He saw that we were in need of just having some fun.
21:10And he finished his shift and took us around Delhi.
21:14And made that experience, you know, ten times better.
21:18Mm.
21:19All of the people that we met in India, China and Nepal were all lovely people.
21:23Everybody wanted to speak to us and we wanted to speak to them.
21:29Welcome.
21:30You have been really helpful.
21:31Thank you very much.
21:32Well, you don't have to thank me.
21:33Well, I do because you're really nice.
21:35Like my duty too, you know?
21:36You're from another country.
21:37Of course I should help you get around here.
21:39People like you encourage people like us, especially old people like us.
21:44That's such an honor.
21:45To come to lovely places like this and I thank you.
21:47Thank you, thank you.
21:48Lovely.
21:49They're amazing people.
21:50High five.
21:51High fives, guys.
21:52Give me five.
21:53One.
21:54Yes!
21:55And they're all wanting photographs with you.
21:56We were such a novelty, I think.
21:58Yeah.
21:59Oh, right?
22:00Did he swear?
22:01Was he novelty then?
22:02He said, fine, thank you.
22:03A great source of amusement, I think.
22:09Yes, that's all right.
22:14Having taken different paths in life, the race gave brothers Brian and Melvin the time to reconnect.
22:28Here, here you go.
22:30That's me, 1974, at school.
22:33For the first time in 50 years.
22:36Yeah.
22:37What do you reckon then?
22:38Yeah?
22:39Changed?
22:40Smile.
22:41I mean, certainly the air's changed, hasn't it?
22:44I was a handsome lad then, you know.
22:46I used to have girlfriends all over the place.
22:48Did you?
22:49Yeah.
22:501965.
22:51That's mum's writing.
22:52Kid, I wouldn't actually know that was me.
22:54Oh, it's not.
22:55That's what we just made up.
22:57Look, who cut your hair?
22:58The brothers wished to discover the connection they'd shared as children.
23:03Ah, lovely.
23:05Lovely.
23:07Oh, what's that?
23:09That's just a piece of board.
23:10The bed and board bits.
23:17What's happened tonight is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping would happen.
23:24I can't remember the last time we laughed like that together.
23:27When you get to 60-odd, you don't recreate what you had, but you can create, can't you?
23:34When Melve asked me to go on the race, it gave me the opportunity to prove to myself
23:39and to others that I wasn't always staying in five-star hotels or whatever.
23:44It's something that I can do.
23:46I think you're amazing, and I actually wonder if some of the joy you had
23:51and the laughter you had was because you had to rough it for once.
23:54Definitely, yeah.
23:55Some of the situations that we found ourselves in were...
23:58Laughable.
23:59Beyond stupid.
24:00So we'd either cry or laugh.
24:04The brothers grabbed all the race had to offer.
24:11Just sort of like a...
24:12Twa?
24:13Yeah.
24:17With both hands.
24:20You're doing that?
24:21Don't.
24:22Don't you dare.
24:24That's digging deep.
24:25We did all right.
24:26Proud of you for picking up shit.
24:29What a ridiculous thing to do, right?
24:31There's a dustpan and brush there, but no, I have to go and pick it up with my hands.
24:36And the look on Brian's face.
24:38And then...
24:39Oh.
24:40How much?
24:41One person is 700 rupees.
24:43There's two people.
24:44Two people is...
24:451,040.
24:47Can you do any cheaper?
24:481,500.
24:491,500, okay.
24:50Two pieces?
24:511,500.
24:52Is that a good deal?
24:53I could have sworn he said 14.
24:56Did it?
24:57No.
24:58Well played, Sam.
25:00While you were racing, did you find the joy again of being brothers?
25:04Selling us in the lifts, wasn't it?
25:06We both kept pressing the buttons.
25:09That was exactly the sort of thing we did when we were kids.
25:11We would have done that as kids.
25:12Well, I think you're going to let him breathe a bit, haven't you?
25:15Put him in a bag, Mark.
25:17I think...
25:19I knew exactly what you were going to do.
25:21I was going to throw him in my face.
25:22I knew exactly what he was going to do.
25:24I'll pick up my pension in a few months.
25:26I'm 66 this year.
25:28But...
25:29I've got a lot of life to look forward to.
25:32The brothers also ventured into new territory with the relationship.
25:36I'll tell you what I couldn't understand, and I still can't get my head round to it to this day.
25:41I was never told that you were going to boarding school.
25:44Really?
25:45Yeah, you just went.
25:47Talking about it when we did, I don't think I realised that I felt as emotional about it, or the pressure of it.
25:54You keep things bottled up, and I don't think we realised that we both felt the same way,
25:58because we'd never had a chance to talk about anything.
26:01We kind of realised halfway through that we weren't that far apart.
26:04It was a little emotional, but we got over it, didn't we?
26:08Cold beer sorted it.
26:11Cheers, mate.
26:12Cheers, mate.
26:13Well done.
26:14Cheers.
26:15This race has pulled something out of us.
26:17It has brought us together.
26:19We are sharing things more, and as long as we remember that, that we are there for each other.
26:24I don't think I'd ever say to Brian I love him.
26:27Even though I'm sure he knows I do.
26:29Hello.
26:30Hello.
26:31Hello.
26:32Yeah, we're extremely proud, aren't we?
26:34Furn British handshake.
26:35Yeah.
26:36Over time, moving from handshakes...
26:39Signing overleaf.
26:41Oh!
26:42Oh!
26:43Oh!
26:44Oh!
26:45Oh!
26:46Oh!
26:47Oh!
26:48Oh!
26:49Oh!
26:50Oh!
26:51Oh!
26:52Thanks.
26:53Stick it there, mate.
26:54Well done.
26:55Well done, pal.
26:56Hug.
26:57We have completed the race.
26:59I mean, your grandchildren will absolutely love that.
27:01To see that and the change in the relationship where you've been apart to now sort of thing
27:06will join your family so much closer.
27:08Well, I hope so.
27:09They'll be wanting to put capes on you.
27:11That upbringing when we were kids...
27:13It was tough.
27:14It was hard.
27:15And when we started this journey, we were both struggling to explain and we were quite upset about it.
27:22Since the race, I'm now fine about it.
27:26Yeah.
27:27We both now know how we both felt at the time and we've never mentioned that in 40 years.
27:32Yeah, right.
27:33It doesn't worry me any longer.
27:34It's gone.
27:35The next chapter, I think, is to try and become a family.
27:40Melv hasn't seen two of my grandkids.
27:43So this summer, Melvyn and all my family will get together.
27:48We've actually put ourselves in a position to do this, to become a family again, if you like.
27:53We're looking forward to it.
27:54It's fantastic.
27:55If you don't do anything about that relationship, if you don't keep in touch, you don't do anything,
28:00you tend to drift away, don't you?
28:02And now, I think after race, we are closer.
28:11Oh my gosh.
28:12Travelling across the world is one thing.
28:15Look!
28:19Watch out!
28:20Oh!
28:21It's okay.
28:22It's okay.
28:23It's okay.
28:24It's okay.
28:25It's okay.
28:26It's okay.
28:27It's okay.
28:28Having a camera on you is another thing, you know.
28:29Give me a thumbs up, guys.
28:30Teams spent almost two months on the road.
28:31Their every move captured by the film crew.
28:34They were patient.
28:35They had to be patient, really, because none of us are actors, are we?
28:50Why did you choose to do this?
28:52Why that?
28:53You don't know yourself.
28:54Yes.
28:55So I was just like, well, I don't know.
28:56I just chose to do it, because it feels like the best option.
28:59But they don't help you.
29:00They don't, yeah.
29:01I'm sure people will think, oh, well, they must get a little bit of help here and there.
29:05Absolutely.
29:06They let you go in the wrong direction for as long as you want.
29:09There's many occasions you're on a train and you're looking at them and saying,
29:12come on, please, please tell us to get off here.
29:14Give me and I move, man.
29:15Nothing.
29:16Nothing.
29:17It was a Shangri-La.
29:18We were running.
29:19We didn't realise the place were right above, but all the crew, all the crew just stood there.
29:23They don't say, oh, they just watch you and record you.
29:26Which way are you going?
29:27I think it's, should we just go down here, because the car's, oh, let's go.
29:33This just feels wrong for him.
29:35Come back this way.
29:36We'll go down those stairs the other way.
29:40I'm sure there's a pathway there.
29:42That's not the main road.
29:43Do you think?
29:44Yeah.
29:45Let's go up there.
29:47Dharma wheel.
29:48And the fact that all of us had these teams.
29:53And then there's another team when you get to the checkpoint.
29:56Yeah.
29:57At our first checkpoint, when we didn't know we were really, really late,
30:00we thought we might still be in with a chance.
30:02Yeah.
30:03As we opened the taxi door, there must have been seven cameras in our face in the dark.
30:07Yeah.
30:08It was a good clue to know that you were in the right place though, wasn't it?
30:10Yeah.
30:11Yeah.
30:12Yeah.
30:13Yeah.
30:14Yeah.
30:15Yeah.
30:16Yeah.
30:17Yeah.
30:18Yeah.
30:19Yeah.
30:20Right.
30:21It was a great trade, 24 hours a day.
30:23They use small, handheld cameras to stay as light and agile as possible.
30:28But that all changes.
30:33Once the teams near the checkpoint.
30:35What are you going?
30:38That way.
30:39And the checkpoint crew take over, a production team including directors, coordinators, camera
30:44and sound operators to make sure the excitement of the final push is covered when the safety tracker
30:50goes off you completely forget what's around you it makes it feel yeah but then you forgot where
30:55you put your glasses specs hey good all right right we're like running as fast as we can
31:07there's so many camera operators trying to go as fast as we can some are running backwards
31:13some that are holding each other to make sure that they're safe bigger cameras some drones
31:21i felt like we're in a movie one of the camera was literally strapped
31:30leaning out the back of one of the vehicles trying to film it yeah
31:37when we're leaving each checkpoint the team's there to film us leaving but then
31:42as soon as we're gone they're flying to the next one we're moving probably 2 000 maybe 3 000
31:49miles from each checkpoint so they're racing us aren't they to get to that point
31:55two flights done we're in katmandu we're halfway to varanasi huge amounts of equipment and it's
32:02just a massive operation logistically i don't know how they do it
32:13after the third checkpoint unable to cross by land
32:17oh my gosh wow i want to see both crew and racers flew over the himalayas
32:31that one there is everything absolutely beautiful
32:34it is very large like seeing the himalayas it's very special it looks unbelievable
32:44and continued from katmandu nepal we're here mel the sun's shining at last
32:53i loved nepal so much because obviously it's very different from home but it felt very close-knit it was
33:00the most vibrant colorful welcoming country i just loved it the only form of transport was road
33:07yeah and yet they were the worst roads i've ever done my ass is still suffering
33:14look at the windscreen right never passes mot would it that he's fine lets the air through that
33:20is oh it's very rickety isn't it this road is absolutely awful i know oh my goodness wow wow
33:34that's like being in bumper cars you know when you're like it's a continuous bumper car it was an
33:40adventure i enjoyed that well it's like being on a roller coaster yeah the night bus we went on we
33:46were trying to sleep and you just had to hold on your head was hitting the roof i thought mum was
33:51gonna start crying oh i don't mind the roughness on the roads but it's a very different story when
34:03you're on the edge of a cliff look at that i want to go again this year like i want to go up to
34:12everest base camp do you find those obstacles not big anymore it's just your mindset really isn't it
34:18yeah yeah i think you've got to look at reasons why you should do things not why you shouldn't yeah
34:23sorry but i i remember finding out that you guys were 18 and 19 and i was i've got mum and she's older
34:30and wiser so i i felt like i was in good hands but you two are still young and silly so how you
34:35did it i chose i so impressive it was hard but it was all credit to you all right let's keep going
34:46the young couple started off strong oh i'm proud of us i'm proud of you proud of you well done yay
34:53but the magnitude of what they faced right is he helping or is he like just like yeah well i'm not
35:01sure finn i i have never been here before really hit home when they reached india what in the world is
35:14way too busy i've never in my life into wow a place this tight with this many people i don't think
35:21it's basically everything i wanted to avoid and i'm in the middle of it literally fresh out of
35:27school so to have gone from that to luck now it's scary and it's really intimidating because you've just
35:34got all these people all these beeping noises we're young with no phones any sense of direction it was hard
35:51i have no idea where we are oh no
35:59uh no bus tickets bus tickets
36:12we were both just like what do we do
36:14more you than me because i was too busy crying you know the stress that that's given you for
36:21two 18 years old it's laughable now and then now when you're thinking about it it seems like it's
36:26just such a short period of time you know 24 hours exactly but it's like end of the world yeah i think
36:32there was many times in india where i thought i can't do this i need to go home not just want to i need
36:38to because this is too much but i'm really glad i just stuck out because experiencing it's been
36:47really valuable it's built character in us i think and it's built us as people it's tough doing
36:56something like this in a relationship but i do think it made us stronger it was a good way to see
37:01if you know we can do it forever or you know what this isn't for us let's end but that wasn't the
37:09case we are still together and we're going well i think that was a big challenge and the best
37:14challenge we could have had together i think where you've got this like new resilience i think
37:18if i had had that when i was your age i would have taken a lot more risks you know i'm just
37:24going to do it if i fail i fail but i would have learned something from it we came home and we
37:28were just like let's go for australia before race we pushed it aside and said oh maybe not yet wait
37:34a few years do you find that both of you are finding you're growing into yourself and because
37:39of the experience you know what you want 100 i think it's made me realize i don't really want to
37:43get into a job and then stuck there and not travel i kind of want to see the world and then maybe
37:48choose my career path we've got that travel bug it's clear that we want to just travel more
37:54before actually settling down i'd say even getting to know you in the last two months
38:00from the start to the finish i could see you becoming so much more confident and willing to
38:06talk and just wanting to actually like be around other people and that was really nice to see
38:11for the four pairs left in the race india was an assault on the senses
38:24from the chaotic capital delhi to the baking deserts of rajasthan
38:30and the idyllic beaches of goa it's a land of extremes and unpredictability
38:37it was just such a shock it was all just so over stimulating like the traffic the people
38:47the smells like you couldn't even concentrate oh look at this
38:55bloody hell i would not like to drive it no
38:59india has a different feeling this is 10 times busier and just gone past is a cow
39:12the life the vibrancy the color it wasn't all pleasant it doesn't really feel real that we're in
39:19india on a tuk-tuk i feel like this is a bit like a movie scene india is going to be full of surprises
39:25but it made you feel so alive and part of it oh there's an elephant being ridden oh my god holy
39:31shit no way oh my god oh my god
39:39teams that traveled beyond the cities saw another side to india india is so diverse i didn't realize
39:47that india had a jungle i had the sea and the mountain ranges it was cold in the north and warm
39:55in the south and it was it was so vast it just had every landscape available it blew my mind
40:03i'm just in my own little world here yet in the most enormous expanse
40:09india was the furthest thing you could get away from home life
40:13and yet just so fantastic in its own way wow
40:20i can't believe it under the tree my buddha himself sat it does feel special i want to
40:26meditate on it and just let go of a lot of life things let go start afresh
40:34going to the birthplace of buddha just seeing how people across india like traveled to this one space
40:40and to practice like spirituality just really opened my eyes and then after like i just embraced it all
40:48it looks like a picture you know looks like a cape
40:58sisters elizabeth and leticia had drifted apart and were looking to rebuild a relationship
41:04would you like a taj mahal built for you me yeah no it's a bit grand i think i know what you wouldn't
41:11want i just don't know what you do want
41:19going into the race i think we definitely wanted to bond with each other because i felt like i'd missed
41:25from teenage years to adulthood and i felt like i was still seeing you as a child almost yeah
41:33yeah i definitely felt that like when you came back the way you thought of me was completely different
41:38to how i was throughout the race our communication just got so much better and that was something
41:45that like i had longed for for so long we want to go to howardga that's good your confidence gave me
42:00confidence okay okay haha wow this is the spirit so we have definitely become a lot more comfortable with
42:10each other oh we're bickering a lot more but i think that it's healthy racing across the world
42:23we're not scared of offending each other as much maybe a lot more annoying than i thought
42:29yeah same with you actually look how freeing that is for you like yes i said it
42:40you clearly love each other i can hear the admiration for each of you having gone through
42:47the journey and you can see that being repaired in front of our eyes you've been proud of yourselves
42:52in more ways than one you've achieved something that not many people have done anyway and look at
42:57you now we're proud of you thank you very much along their journey the sisters connected with local
43:05families in many homestays so now you need to cover it let's cover yeah put it back yeah basically
43:12and have taken that inspiration into a new family endeavor in cheyenne village this is a couple that
43:19left the big city to go for a more rural lifestyle they've planted so many trees it felt like rewarding
43:26to be a part of that one more yeah okay okay oh my gosh this is so nice this kind of reminds me of kenya
43:35though isn't it after rice we went straight off to kenya our dad has like a piece of land and he's
43:43always dreamt of building the homestay to retire and to stay there working in the homestay seeing how
43:49they're living off the land just made us think about what we'd want to do in kenya seeing how
43:56people are doing it gave me more of a push we are going to build homestay in kenya
44:05coming out of the race i have gained like a new confidence now i'm not so scared to fail
44:12and although it was hard and we pushed ourselves i'm proud of us and i'm excited for future
44:26the teams learned much from the race but at the heart the desire to get a step ahead of their
44:31competition was their driving force come on oldie reception well don't tell us come on keep going
44:40500 good lad thank you go go go go go go we're both competitive people and to turn around and say
44:48that we didn't set out to win would be nonsense yeah exactly i think brian was a bit more competitive
44:54than the melvin that's how it came out if brian was taking the lead and i thought we were doing the
45:00wrong thing i'd say something it didn't happen though did it i remember you guys saying that you
45:07spent all like most of your money yeah i remember that we're good we've got so much money left
45:13we did tell a few porky pies no we did we did i think it was when we saw you guys on the luxury bus
45:21we were like how important to take that brian and melvin are living the luxury life the exclusively
45:31luxurious life that's why they're spending money well maybe we should start spending money
45:37the other teams that would come into the checkpoint and they say well how do you think you're doing and
45:41we'd say god that was an expensive leg the first two nights we were over 600 yen that we'd spent oh we
45:49were don't tell them that we were actually it's very nice and comforting to know we're not alone to be
45:55honest we're lucky to be able to to eat we've only got 15 left don't we what
46:08leticia still believes she i can pull her leg any time can't we all told lies didn't we we all about
46:15how much money so we were the only ones that were bullying yeah yeah but then after checkpoints
46:25seeing you caroline oh yeah you were so competitive i loved it it really pushed me on as well you could
46:32tell that little glint that that you were going to win i remember the the closer we got i cared more
46:38about winning than actually starting to see the sights and that really kind of took over towards the end
46:43that's where we went wrong mate we did the opposite we did the opposite because we then saw finn and
46:49shawn ed on the way in for the last run-in did you and something there just so frightening we really
46:58did think we would i know i want this so i know and i think we will i think we will i think i think
47:04we have a good shot we haven't seen a single team do you not think running back over there we would have
47:09cost someone we would have cost someone oh boy it's so competitive we definitely went in it to
47:16win it we were kind of telling ourselves weren't we that we were in it for the experience but in the
47:22back of our minds we were just like yeah we need to win chop chop calm down enjoy it now i want to win
47:31i think we have a good chance i think we have a decent chance of winning oh my gosh go go
47:45i was gutted when i opened it i'm not gonna lie i don't know if i've been showed in my face or not
47:49wow wow we're all so close no oh no at the start every checkpoint we would just try so much and i think
48:04that's where we definitely saw our competitive side race mode is on it was such a lovely thing to see
48:12the first place what wow wow i think after that we were chasing that feeling again
48:25should we get on here come on just rest when we get there i was in it to win it from the get-go i
48:31met many failures along the way and a lot of self-doubt crept in but i still wanted to win it
48:37thank you for doing this with me thank you the fact we get together is pretty good so we'll be
48:44all right we'll make sure we're okay with limited travel experience and a desire to see the world
48:54caroline embarked on the race with her son tom i've tucked my trousers into my socks i've got plastic
49:01shoes on i've never seen you happier i don't know what's going on i don't know if you're drunk or i
49:08wish i feel alive thomas does that does that make sense that's really nice you start to get old
49:14meant to be slowing down and i feel there's challenges i feel there's adventure out there
49:18that i can do as well it's great to begin with i wanted to go on the race and seem to drag you along
49:24with me yeah and it ended up being both of us doing it in parallel as such mum oh god
49:37i made it oh my god you could have just gone to the bottom and then come back out
49:42are you okay where's the funny cat where's the small bag have you not got it no you're such a
49:49oh mom that's good that's good uh miss what you miss every time they laugh it's you missing
50:04just definitely endurance race across the world i came on to race not knowing that i needed to
50:10learn stuff about myself i think i needed to but i just didn't really know that you needed
50:15yeah i don't think i really realized maybe i was just a bit too young and arrogant and just thought
50:20no i'm i'm perfect i don't need to do that but i think mum keeps telling
50:29can i do left oh i was born with cerebral palsy that's fine you're getting the hang of it i think
50:38so it was quite a revelation he actually came out and said to a total stranger i've got cerebral palsy
50:45he seems to be more mature i'm really proud of him i might get into carpet making it home
50:51i was always worried that people would judge me and see me as as different and i've always
50:57semi-been worried that that's going to kind of hold me back in life and also being able to travel around
51:03the world without a phone and just using a bit of common sense and people skills has really shown me
51:09that you don't just need to be academic to achieve you can also achieve through many other ways it
51:15doesn't mean you're not smart mate i'm very nervous to try and not break one because i can imagine
51:20they're very brittle being a laborer on a building site so that means you are actually hard worker
51:27i prefer being outside and working like with my hands rather than in an office or probably similar to
51:33everyone in this village for me my hobby comes in my job that that's what i'm looking to find
51:38hopefully one day since i've been back i've gone kind of the more self-employed routes and it's
51:45really challenging it's going really well i mean it's scary sometimes but i think from race i've
51:51learned maths you always make mistakes but there's normally a way around it one thing i've realized
51:56is i'm a very messy worker but that's okay it's just given me a hell of a lot more belief in myself
52:04to know that if i want to try to do something i can achieve if i try hard enough and tom wasn't alone
52:11in his boost of confidence caroline also blossomed
52:24thank you yes good thank you thank you for being so friendly oh i really feel that i changed it's a bit
52:32like um the british stiff upper lip the way you have to present the dignity perhaps that's part of my
52:40generation i have never been anywhere like this in my whole life i wish i'd done it when i was younger
52:44and i felt more carefree and i could just enjoy the moment and immersed in it and i felt like i
52:51belonged and i was in charge of my own destiny rather than it being predetermined for me just to slow
52:57down i do think mum really grew and she got more confident we could see your mum grow i realized it was
53:06something that mum needed to do and i knew it would be so beneficial for her and it has been what would
53:13you be doing though if you hadn't gone on race having something for me to do is now at the forefront
53:20rather than feeling i've just been shelved and i'm not important anymore did you find more of an
53:26identity about yourself and really get comfortable with yourself i found a lot of confidence i'm not
53:31frightened of failure whereas before i was frightened to try remember how well me and mum got on how fun
53:41she is and just how much you love her i appreciate these times and these memories because there will
53:47be a time that i can't this to me is winning no amount of money can make me realize all of this
53:53it was absolutely lovely thank you
54:03that's the biggest thing that i think has changed is that i i see you more as an actual person now
54:08rather than just my mum who's there to to help me out we now go and get coffee and chat about
54:14like like serious stuff and actually have a good conversation you know instead of saying oh mum can you
54:20wash these pants like thank you yeah the pair not only developed as people but honed the race
54:29strategy too it's all right 26 hours after the first game and with sheer grit and determination
54:36they climbed from last to top it's okay don't it's okay it's okay i still remember coming in last at the
54:45first checkpoint as an overwhelming feeling of failure in front of myself
54:55gutted i suppose it has really really reinforced the fact that you just keep plodding on
55:01and just because you've had a setback doesn't mean you can't improve and you can't
55:05eventually achieve and i didn't think you'd ever have to see me at that point oh yeah let's do it
55:11oh and i thought he still loves me and believes in me so i just have to pick myself up and carry on
55:19come on thomas come on
55:23seeing mum so upset at the end of leg one was kind of a real catalyst for wanting to do better
55:32oh my god i thought i am not going to give up on him and i'm not going to give up on us no matter what
55:48and that in itself gave rise to more determination and an inner strength
55:53i was not surprised tom and caroline won it
56:23surprised at all yeah they deserve to win it in the end of the day we're really pleased
56:28mum wants a challenge so i feel like going somewhere like kazakhstan where i've never met
56:33anybody who's traveled there would just be brilliant it's the complete unexpected and i
56:37just think something amazing would come from it make sure you take your phone though
56:43it sounds from around the table everyone has had their relationship struggles or personal
56:48struggles but actually i'm hearing from every single person so much positivity coming out of the race
56:53and the changes that we've all made to move forward it's really lovely to hear it makes me feel
56:59really warm and feel quite proud we've all gone on that sort of like similar journey
57:02i think we all took it by the bulls all achieve so much so much
57:09ta-da you're wonderful thank you sir
57:14it's been more than just the distance it's been a journey for us
57:41it's just as important i mean that you enjoy the journey as much as you enjoy the destination
57:52cheers everybody cheers guys well done well done everybody
58:07cheers
58:13it's
58:27it's
58:27it's
58:28it's
58:28it's
Recommended
46:15
45:11
46:05
46:10
46:13
47:58
47:27
47:33